Editors’ Choice: We test 9 family CUVs under $40,000

We rounded up nine of the most popular compact crossovers in Canada and tested them head-to-head in some real-life situations to see which one was the best

by
Derek McNaughton | December 4, 2014

Small

Medium

Large

BOWMANVILLE, Ont. — It’s time the Compact Utility Vehicle got some respect. Enough of the backhanded compliments, the cute names and sneering sobriquets used to describe the CUV. These vehicles deserve better, for not only is this segment the future of family mobility, but right now, they’re the fastest-growing segment in the country.

Canadians took home more than 315,000 CUVs last year. Our American cousins bought almost 1.9 million more. Even frugal Europeans are buying them by the case. These modern-day cargo/kid haulers, these little brothers and sisters to the SUV, are finding all kinds of fans, the top four CUVs in Canada accounting for 9% of our entire new vehicle market in October. Year-over-year increases are a robust 40%. Clearly, the minivan’s obituary is already forgotten, the popularity of the family sedan also on the wane. The compact utility vehicle is now the family favourite. The Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR-V are the Toyota Camrys of the future.

We pit some of the top-selling family crossovers in Canada under $40,000 against each other to see which one was the best.

Nick Tragianis, Driving

We tested nine of the top selling CUVs in Canada for their user friendliness, performance, off-road ability, value, comfort and more.

Nick Tragianis, Driving

We tested nine of the top selling CUVs in Canada for their user friendliness, performance, off-road ability, value, comfort and more.

Nick Tragianis, Driving

We tested nine of the top selling CUVs in Canada for their user friendliness, performance, off-road ability, value, comfort and more.

Nick Tragianis, Driving

With such proliferation comes great choice, indeed, perhaps too much choice. How can anyone thoroughly investigate the top candidates when the segment fields approximately 20 models — and that’s before including the also flourishing luxury CUV set — all standing tall. Brand loyalists might have an easy time of choosing, but for those of us weighing the pros and cons of the more affordable models, the task is as daunting as it is bewildering.

That’s precisely why Driving assembled nine of the most popular CUVs in Canada for a two-day challenge that saw each vehicle compete against its rivals in the same class. The settings were situations and environments in which these vehicles would normally (with one exception) find themselves: GPSing to a city restaurant, pairing our Bluetooth phones, zipping about in the country and even some light off-road trails. Nine of our experts drove each and every one of the assembled CUVs and drove them exactly as if they owned them.

2015 Nissan Rogue

Nick Tragianis, Driving

2015 Toyota RAV4

Nick Tragianis, Driving

2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport

Nick Tragianis, Driving

2015 Honda CR-V

Nick Tragianis, Driving

2015 Volkswagen Tiguan

Nick Tragianis, Driving

2015 Mazda CX-5

Nick Tragianis, Driving

2015 Jeep Cherokee

Nick Tragianis, Driving

2015 Chevrolet Equinox

Nick Tragianis, Driving

2015 Ford Escape

Nick Tragianis, Driving

Our chosen vehicles represent the top-selling models in the segment, the Volkswagen Tiguan being the lone non best-seller. While not in the top 10, the little tiger crossed with an iguana found a place in our Editors’ Choice because of its incredible month over month sales gains. Plus, we get asked about it all the time.

While each vehicle in our challenge begins with a base price of less than $30,000, not one of the vehicles supplied to us by various automakers stickered below that. In fact, most fell into the sweet spot of $35,000, the price at which, according to automakers, most transactions take place anyway. When a Jeep Cherokee was found to have a sticker in excess of $44,000, we sent it back, drawing the line at $40,000 — pricing should be as compact as dimensions.

The vehicles picked, then, with prices that do not including freight and delivery costs, in order of their year-to-date Canadian sales, were:

We tested nine of the top selling CUVs in Canada for their user friendliness, performance, off-road ability, value, comfort and more.

Dodge Journey fans might already have their hands up wondering why it wasn’t chosen over the Cherokee. Simple: the Cherokee is new, with soaring sales; the Journey is due for replacement, underscored by its withering sales. The Hyundai Santa Fe might have been the fatty of the group (and was certainly the most expensive), nudging the cusp of being called a compact; but it remains so popular in the market that precluding it would have been derelict in designing such a challenge.

What we assembled, therefore, was an impressive clutch of the hottest CUVs available. Each came equipped with its own version of AWD — all automatic systems and some operating full-time — plus navigation installed. Only the Cherokee was not fully equipped because it was missing the dealer-installed $500 navigation program, though it did come with Chrysler’s brilliant Uconnect system, which we know from past experience handles nav duties well.

An urban assault day where we tested user-friendliness (with Bluetooth and navigation) and cargo capacity was part of our evaluations.

The challenges we set for this group were split into two days — an urban assault day — when we loaded them to the hilt, tested their user-friendliness, and drove around the Greater Toronto Area like many a harassed and overworked consumer — and a track day where we flogged the little beasts in order to determine their on- and off-road performance.

As for the everyday tasks, none of the vehicles had any difficulty pairing phones, though the Cherokee set some sort of new Driving record with the quickness with which it mind-melded our iPhones. The Tiguan, too, stood out but because it oddly splits the phone interface into two locations, the centre stack and the instrument cluster.

The RAV4 was favoured for its GPS/infotainment interface thanks to clear instructions and detailed maps. The Rogue and Santa Fe scored well, too, in the interaction department. Several other systems were deemed lesser for having small screens and difficult to read menus.

A light off-road challenge was part of our evaluations. Luckily, each CUV can be equipped with all-wheel drive.

Of course, an important challenge unique to this Editors’ Choice because of the “utility” in CUV was to determine which had the roomiest interiors and, perhaps more importantly, which cargo area could swallow the most stuff. Most impressive were the low loading floors of the Santa Fe, CX-5, RAV4 and CR-V, the lower lift points a bonus when hoisting heavy hockey duffels. The Equinox, on the other hand, one of the largest vehicles here, managed only a mediocre showing, its relatively high loading height and awkwardly shaped luggage space an impediment to efficient stowage.

From there, we set about asking a few unbiased members of the public which CUV they liked best, based purely on appearances. The Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Santa Fe were both fondly adored for their shapes.

Cargo capacity matters to people shopping in this segment, so we included a cargo capacity challenge as part of our evaluations.

Nick Tragianis, Driving

Cargo capacity matters to people shopping in this segment, so we included a cargo capacity challenge as part of our evaluations.

Nick Tragianis, Driving

Not too many of our CUVs could hold all the stuff in our challenge, especially the bicycle.

Nick Tragianis, Driving

When testing a CUV, you also have to test out the cargo capacity, which means finding out how easy it is to get the rear seats down, how easy the trunk is to load and how much stuff it can hold.

Nick Tragianis, Driving

When testing a CUV, you also have to test out the cargo capacity, which means finding out how easy it is to get the rear seats down, how easy the trunk is to load and how much stuff it can hold.

Nick Tragianis, Driving

Our second day of testing started with more objective measures: braking from 80 km/h, and acceleration runs to 100 km/h, all completed on a closed course at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont. The Volkswagen, despite boasting just 200 horsepower from its turbo 2.0-litre, outgunned the heavier Santa Fe and its 264 hp turbo 2.0-litre. Third quickest was the Mazda CX-5. Even the mid-pack runners — the RAV4 and Honda CR-V — felt more than powerful enough. The only two models lacking in powertrain excitement were the Nissan and Chevrolet, the Equinox damned by its small 2.4L four trying to motivate 1,781 kilograms, and the Rogue by its continuously variable transmission (CVT). Both engines could be forced to accelerate with something approaching speed, but neither sounded happy about it. The Rogue proved to be thrashiest on the highway, while the Chevrolet clattered most at city speeds.

The track also afforded us the opportunity to see how well these CUVs performed when driven to their limits. While few CUV owners will punish their supposedly practical transports so mercilessly, the experience proves important; it’s impossible to hide the true character of a vehicle when it’s being driven at 100%. This is where, for instance, the Mazda CX-5 and Tiguan showed their sporty roots. The Escape, on the other hand, fumbled about in “limp mode” after its engine got too hot, the Cherokee developed a bit of a front brake issue, and the Equinox wondered how it ever ended up on a track in the first place.

A light off-road challenge was part of our evaluations. Luckily, each CUV can be equipped with all-wheel drive.

Lastly, we took all nine for a quick romp through the woods on a staged off-road track. Hardly demanding enough to challenge a Jeep Wrangler, or even a Land Rover LR4, the course was more of a rough cottage road. As expected, the Rogue and Cherokee got high marks for their more robust off-road controls, but the RAV4’s good showing was a little unexpected considering it’s never been known as a rugged sport-ute.

What was interesting about all this testing — and, indeed, was similar to the results of our test of Road Rockets under $30,000 last spring — was that the vehicle with the most points wasn’t the one that stole our hearts. Perhaps more shocking, however, was that Ford’s Escape, the category leader in sales, ranked almost last, beating out only the Equinox, the latter hardly a surprise since the Chevy is due for a remake.

We tested nine of the top selling CUVs in Canada for their user friendliness, performance, off-road ability, value, comfort and more.

At the front of the class, meanwhile, was the powerful Hyundai Santa Fe followed by the sprightly Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5. What was most interesting, however, is that when all nine of our road testers were asked what car they would buy with their own money, the Santa Fe only got one vote. Tied for the top spot with three votes each were the sporty Mazda CX-5 and dependable Honda CR-V.

The RAV4 came third with two Editor’s Choices. Meanwhile, no one picked the Escape. Which just goes to show that the most popular CUV is not always the best.